ACC grant helping to reduce farm injuries
Developed with the help of an ACC workplace injury prevention grant, an innovative calf trailer is set to help reduce sprain and strain injuries on dairy farms.
The new ‘easy entry’ calf trailer gate prototype was co-designed, with input from both farmers and workplace and farm systems specialists.
DairyNZ, alongside delivery partner Quality Consultants of New Zealand (QCONZ), has worked with KEA Trailers to make the trailer gate available to farmers.
The key feature is the hands-free spring-loaded saloon doors which make loading calves quicker, easier and safer. The gate also swings open to 180 degrees to make unloading calves simpler and can be retrofitted to many existing calf trailer types.
The trailer gate was developed with the help of a $900,000 ACC workplace injury prevention grant and is part of a wider project between DairyNZ and ACC, who are joining forces to reduce strain and sprains on dairy farms.
Making life easier for farmers
ACC injury prevention manager Virginia Burton-Konia says ACC accepts about 23,000 claims for farm-related injuries each year, with around 1,000 claims being related to lifting and carrying calves in the past five years.
Virginia hopes the new calf trailer gate will make life easier for dairy farmers and reduce the number of preventable injuries occurring.
She says most injuries occur because of the fatigue that comes from working long days and the pressure of high workloads.
“We know farmers are great at looking after their animals and their farms, but they’re perhaps not quite as good at looking after themselves,” she says.
“The constant expectation to deliver, along with severe weather events and other factors, can put a lot of pressure on the shoulders of people in the industry.”
A farmer loading a calf into the innovative new calf trailer.
Understanding the cause of farming injuries
DairyNZ is the industry organisation that represents all New Zealand dairy farmers. It’s focused on helping farmers build profitable, sustainable and resilient farm businesses through extension, advocacy, science and research.
Researcher Brian Dela Rue says DairyNZ wants to help improve on-farm conditions by better understanding the cause of sprains and strain injuries.
“Farmers are often injured when they’re feeding calves, collecting them from the paddock, or when they slip or trip on uneven ground or slippery concrete,” Brian says.
“These injuries can have an impact on farm teams, with people needing 12 days off on average.
“Understanding where these injuries occurred helped us work with farmers and a team of specialists to co-design practical solutions, like the easy entry calf gate, to improve day-to-day calving activities.”
The innovative new trailer gate will be available from KEA Trailers.
Getting farmers fit for calving
The new trailer is not the only initiative ACC is supporting to help keep our farmers safer.
We also partner with the Mental Health Foundation and FMG Insurance to deliver rural wellbeing programme Farmstrong, which encourages farmers to look after themselves as well as their pasture and livestock.
Farmstrong also provides a targeted injury prevention programme to help get farmers fit for calving.
More information on the Farmstrong ‘Fit for Calving’ exercise programme can be found on the Farmstrong website.
